The death of a loved one or family member is one of the most traumatic
experiences one can face. The Cemetery Department staff is here to assist the
family and loved ones of the deceased and make the experience as painless as
possible.
Arrangements for opening and closing a gravesite can be made through the
respective funeral home. However, if a family wishes to make the arrangements
themselves, they can come to the Cemetery Office located at 203 Maple Hill Drive
(just inside the main gate off California Street).
Family members or loved ones should have the following information before
arriving:
• Name of Cemetery in Which Deceased Will be Interred
• Funeral Home
• Full Name of the Deceased
• Age of Deceased
• Date of Death
• Date, Time, and Location of Funeral or Memorial Service
• Location of Property*
• Owner of Property*
*If this information is not known, it can generally be ascertained through our
records.
After all the necessary information is recorded and the interment form is
signed, an interment fee must be paid prior to the grave being opened. Maple
Hill Cemetery requires 24-hours advance notice on grave openings.
When property changes hands from one owner to another, the Cemetery Department
must perform the necessary paperwork to insure ownership records are kept
accurate and current.
If cemetery property is being bought, sold, or simply transferred from one owner
to another, a $50 transfer fee is charged to cover the administrative cost of
researching, producing, and maintaining these records.
The process of transferring property in any City-owned cemetery generally takes
several days/weeks as there are several steps in the process. First, a $50 fee
must be paid before beginning the process. Second, the ownership of the property
is researched for authenticity. Third, a plat of the respective space(s) is
generated to insure there are no burials on the property being transferred.
If the property is determined to be eligible for transfer, the required
documents are generated by the Cemetery Department, signatures are obtained, and
file copies are distributed accordingly.
The rates for services performed in City-owned cemeteries are as follows:
| • Weekday Interments |
$395.00 |
| • Weekend/Holiday Interments |
$450.00 |
| • Interments After 3:30 p.m. |
$450.00* |
| • Cremation Interments (Any Day) |
$195.00 |
| • Disinterments |
$595.00 * |
| • Foundation Fees |
.35/square inch - Minimum charge will be $100.80 based on 1' x 2' marker |
| • Installation of Corner Markers |
$5.00/marker |
| • Property Transfer Fee (includes plat) |
$50.00 |
| • Property Transfer Fee (Prepared by Attorney) |
$20.00 |
| • Sounding/Plat (Not connected with burial) |
$10.00 |
| • Computer Copy of Genealogy Research |
$1.00/page (After three pages) |
*Requires approval of Cemetery Director |
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If a burial space requires maintenance (e.g., filling, seeding, fertilizing),
contact the Cemetery Department office at 427-5730 Monday - Friday, 7:00 a.m. to
4:00 p.m. Please provide the deceased name and/or the property location, the
nature of the problem, and your name, address, and telephone number.
• Visiting hours are between 7:00 a.m. and sunset every day of the year.
• Visitors are prohibited from bringing into the cemetery:
o Dogs
o Food/Beverages of any kind
o Firearms
• Visitors may bring cut or silk flowers or arrangements
• Visitors shall not remove flower arrangements from any gravesite except that
of an immediate family member.
• Visitors shall not scratch, mar, deface, injure, or disturb any monument,
memorial vase, building, fence, tree, or shrub within the limits of the grounds.
• Dead or unsightly flower arrangements will be removed by our cemetery staff
after an appropriate period of time. If a family member wishes to discard old or
dead flowers, they can place them at the edge of the roadway for collection by
the Cemetery maintenance personnel.
• No trees or shrubs shall be permitted to be planted or removed except by the
express permission of the Cemetery Director.
• Bulbs/flowers may be planted at or around the headstone; however, the remained
of the area must be clear for mowing. Advise and permission to plant shall be
given by the Director.
• The Cemetery reserves the right to remove any tree, plant, or shrub at any
time without notice.
• The Cemetery reserves the right to disturb or remove the sod on any lot or
change the grade of any lot and restore such lot to its former condition without
notice.
• Lot owners shall be allowed to take cuttings from their own plants but not
from plants anywhere else in the cemetery except with express permission of the
Director.
• The sale or transfer of any full or partial lot shall not be valid or
recognized until the proper documentation has been presented to the Cemetery
Department and the transaction approved by the Director.
• Cement products of all kinds are prohibited above the ground on any lot.
• No coping, fencing, hedging borders, or enclosures of any kind are permitted
around any lot.
• No rocks, stone, gravel, wood or like material will be allowed on any lot.
• Any trinkets which, in the opinion of the Director, are unsightly will be
removed without notice.
• All benches will be placed only with the permission of the Cemetery Director.
• All opening and closing fees are payable in advance and are subject to change
without notice.
• When a grave collapses or sinks from any cause, the Cemetery Department will
refill it to ground level. No mounding above or around graves is permitted.
• Interments must be made in the presence of an authorized representative of the
Cemetery Department.
• Interment of any body or the cremated remains of any body, other than that of
a human being shall not be permitted in any cemetery.
• The practice of scattering cremated remains at any place in the Cemetery is
specifically prohibited.
• A 24-hour notice is required on all grave openings.
• All foundations at City cemeteries shall be constructed by the Cemetery
Department upon written order from the monument dealer or the lot owner. Charges
for foundations are payable in advance.
• Family mausoleums shall not be erected unless and until the design and
specifications have been approved by the Director. Only one mausoleum shall be
erected on any individual lot.
• The locations of markers, monuments, mausoleums, or other memorials shall be
determined by the Cemetery Department.
• All persons erecting monuments, mausoleums, or memorials are required to hold
a current city business license for that activity before proceeding with the
erection of the monument or marker.
• Damage done to lots, walks, drives, trees, shrubs, or other property by
dealers or contractors will be repaired by the Cemetery Department and cost of
same charged to the contractor.
• Rules and regulations are subject not only to the original lot owner but also
all those who succeed, either by assignment, sale, or inheritance.
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COMMUNITY SERVICE OPPORTUNITIES
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Because all our City Cemeteries are special, many people express an interest in
volunteering or making a donation toward preservation and restoration. If you
are one of those who would like to help, may we suggest the following:
• Volunteering to weed or plant flower beds
• Volunteering to litterbug or beautify an area
• Volunteering to do data entry
• Making a cash contribution to the Maple Hill Foundation
• Spearheading a group clean-up or beautification project
• Donating trees, shrubs, or bedding plants
• Donating any other resources at your disposal that would aid in our mission
Please contact our main office at (256)427-5730 if you have a desire to help in
any way.
DO NOT.......
• Sit, stand, or lean against tombstones
• Walk across fresh gravesites
• Eat or drink while on Cemetery grounds
• Remove any fresh or artificial flowers from a gravesite other than those that
belong to your family or loved one
• Smoke at or near a funeral in progress
• Throw paper, cans, gum or other litter in a cemetery
• Enter the cemetery after dark or before dawn
• Walk dogs or take other animals into the cemetery
• Remove, damage, or destroy any tree, shrub or plant in a cemetery
• Climb trees or fences
• Play loud music or make loud noises in a cemetery
• Block entrances
• Park in grass
• Dig in a cemetery or desecrate a gravesite
DO.......
• Remove hats to show respect when attending a funeral or when visiting a
particular burial site of a family member or friend.
• Drive slowly and always stop for a funeral procession or equipment movement.
The City's cemeteries function not only as historic landmarks but also
educational tools in educating Huntsville's children. Third graders throughout
Huntsville learn valuable lessons in history, geography, and manners through
Maple Hill and Glenwood Cemeteries.
This on-going program, sponsored by Earthscope, teaches children about
Huntsville history by introducing them to residents of Huntsville long ago. As
the children visit the gravesites of these noteworthy citizens, they listen to
audio tapes that tell about their life and the contributions they made to the
area.
In addition to a history lesson, the children learn how to use a compass, the
significance of the symbols on the tombstones, and basic cemetery etiquette. The
children complete their field trip with a tombstone rubbing that they take with
them.
Huntsville's municipal cemeteries are more than marble and granite museums, they
are local treasures that young and old alike can learn from and share with each
other for many years to come.
In addition, the Huntsville Pilgrimage Association sponsors an annual Cemetery
Stroll on the first Sunday in May which features over 80 costumed characters who
give historical accounts of people and events that are connected to Maple Hill
Cemetery. This is a free event that can be enjoyed by the entire family and
attracts over 3,000 attendees annually.
 MAPLE HILL CEMETERY
203 Maple Hill Drive
Huntsville, AL 35801
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Directions to Maple Hill Cemetery:
From I-565 east, take Oakwood Avenue exit. Turn right on Oakwood Avenue. Turn
right on Andrew Jackson Way. Travel approximately one mile to Wells Avenue and
turn left. Take first right on Maple Hill Drive. Maple Hill Cemetery is the
first entrance on the left.
From I-565 west, take Oakwood Avenue exit. Go through Oakwood Avenue
intersection on Andrew Jackson Way. Travel approximately one mile to Wells
Avenue and turn left. Take first right on Maple Hill Drive. Maple Hill Cemetery
is the first entrance on the left.
From Downtown Huntsville, take Williams Avenue east to McClung Street. Take a
right on McClung to California Street. Turn left on California Street and go
straight (instead of taking sharp left curve) which carries one directly to the
main entrance of Maple Hill Cemetery.
There is some confusion as to the exact year Maple Hill Cemetery was
established. Most agree that it was around 1822, when LeRoy Pope sold two acres
to the City to establish a municipal cemetery. However, there is no dispute that
Maple Hill is one of the oldest cemeteries in Alabama and was registered by the
Alabama Historical Association in 1962. Maple Hill has expanded to its present
size of almost 100 acres and over 80,000 burials.
Many of Huntsville's most prominent citizens are buried at Maple Hill. Among
them are five (5) of Alabama's governors, LeRoy Pope, Mollie Teal, Dr. Thomas
Fearn, and Albert Russel Erskine. Veterans from the Civil War, World Wars I and
II, the Korean War, the Vietnam War, and Operation Desert Storm are also buried
at Maple Hill.
A noteworthy landmark--the Huntsville Meridian--also makes its home in Maple
Hill Cemetery. This is the stationing point from which all land in north Alabama
was surveyed. A marker identifying this site is located in Block Four of the
Cemetery.
There are several publications documenting the oldest markers in Maple Hill
Cemetery. The first one, Maple Hill Cemetery: Phase One by Robey, Johnson,
Jones, and Roberts, was published in 1995. It catalogues the markers in the
oldest 14 sections of the Cemetery. This book and others are available at local
bookstores and historic sites.
